Who would have known?
by Random Thought Girl
Summary: What if Katniss got pregnant easily with her first child? She didn't have to deal with losing a child before they were even born? Then before her and Peeta have the second child she has a miscarriage and blames herself? What will happen when it's not entirely what she thought? That not all hope is lost?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a bit of sequel to 12 years later, only it's not right after. It can also be it's on independent story. This is about two to three years after so their daughter Demer is about two and a half... yep you're really going to hate me or think this is stupid, at least I would. Whatever yeah... Please review I need to have some comments on whether or not I should continue it. I do have a plan for this so I hope you like it...**

I'm five months pregnant and every morning I wake up irritated. This morning is different though, I wake up in my usual mood, but my stomach is aching. This is until my bouncing little girl comes hopping over to my side of the bed, her dark hair in two braids on each side of her face. A smile runs along my face and it's only reflected by her's.

"Hey baby. Did daddy do your hair?" I ask reaching out from under the covers to touch one of the braids. She nods making her hair bob. "Does daddy know I'm up?" I ask in a sweet voice. She nods again and I pat her head as I sit up. "Can you go get daddy for mommy?" I ask her as I try to sit up and a pain radiates in my lower abdominal region. Yet again she nods and bounds from the room.

I wish so badly that I could have the same energy as her. All I really do is lay in bed all day and force Peeta to get me whatever I need. He does so happily, indulging in my every whimsy. He does occasionally have to send Demer, our daughter, over to spend some time with Haymitch when I have a particularly bad day or when he does.

When Peeta comes into the room, looking slightly sheepish, I grimace at him the pain steadily increasing in my stomach as I try to sit up. A small gasp comes from my mouth as a stabbing pain ripples through my center. I realize that the sheets are wet and sticky which causes my eyes to open to the fullest. Something's wrong, terribly wrong.

"Peeta." I gasp in pain.

"Katniss what's wrong?" He asks desperately. My hand feels wet and I take it out from under the covers to see it's covered in layer of scarlet. It takes me a moment to process what's going on, by then Peeta has already ripped the covers off me. We both look down and see that I'm sitting in a puddle of blood. "No." He says eyes widening.

Before I really have any time to process the information he's scooped me up and taken me to the bathroom, set me on the tile and fled the room. I hear the front door slam shut just after Peeta calls for Demer to go to Haymitch's instantly. I know that he's the one that slammed the door and I don't hear anything else.

I fill the tub with warm water in an attempt to do anything about my current predicament. I sit there for a while longer while trying to get my thoughts together.

I can't lose this baby. I already love it so much. This can't happen.

For about half an hour I endure horrible pain alone in my home, struggling not to pass out. After an hour I succumb to it and the world goes black.

* * *

Some time later I wake up, back in the bed, a cool rag pressed to my head, Peeta and my mother hovering over my face. I know that it happened, I know I lost my baby but I just can't seem to let any words slip through my lips. At the very thought of it I start sobbing violently.

Peeta looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. Those very eyes rimmed with red that tells me he's been crying. That could only confirm my suspicion.

"I-I lost the-the baby. D-didn't I?" I stutter out. He can't seem to look me in the eye as he whispers a soft 'yes'. I look at my mother and she wraps me in a hug.

"I'm so sorry honey. When we got here it was too late to do anything. It's not your fault. You have to remember that." She whispers to me.

Peeta slides out of the room and I get the courage to ask one last thing,"Did- did he see?" She nods sadly and I look away not being able to stand myself. I can't believe I did this to him. It's all my fault, no matter what my mother told me. I could have done something, I just know it. I should die right here right now. Nothing I could do could ever make up for my failure.

I can hear the door close once again and close my eyes in both relief and despair. "Make sure he's okay." I tell her attempting to get her to leave me alone.

"He's going over to Haymitch's, Demer's there and he'll tell them. I'm staying with you." She tells me firmly.

**Should I continue? I have a few chapters planned out so, should I? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Peeta POV**

When I get back with Mrs. Everdeen we rush upstairs towards the bedroom, only to find that Katniss isn't there. I check in the bathroom where I left her and instantly wish that I hadn't stepped in. She's laying in the bathtub, unconscious. The tub is full of water tinged red with her own blood. Mrs. Everdeen is right behind me but pushes me aside to go over to her.

She remains still as her mother presses two fingers to her neck and holds it there for a moment before turning to me.

"She still has a pulse, but barely. Can you take her back to the bedroom?" She tells me. This news is both relieving and more frightening at the same time, I'm glad that she's still alive unlike I originally thought. When I saw her in the bathtub, filled with her own blood, I knew instantly what had happened, I had an inkling of what was going on when she had first called me into the room, I knew that is she died it would be on my hands. It would have been my fault.

I reach into the tub and gently pick her up and I can feel just how fragile she is. I feel like I'm going to break her. After I pick her up I make the mistake of looking in the tub and almost drop Katniss. In the tub there is a tiny form that looks like a minuscule human, it has a small smattering of fine blonde hair, the body still looks a bit alien but the arms, legs, you can see little microscopic fingers and toes forming and have to tear my eyes away from the disturbing and depressing. Before anything else happens I carry her into the bedroom and Mrs. Everdeen takes off the sheets then she replaces them quickly. I lay Katniss down gently, hoping that it will help in some way if I'm extremely careful with her then she'll just wake back up.

"Is Demer at Haymitch's?" Mrs. Everdeen asks suddenly as she moves around Katniss.

"Yeah, I took her over before I got you." I say knowing that I should have been quicker about it. "I took too long..." I mutter.

"No, she should be fine. There have been women who come back from way worse. Any way it's good that you took her over. She really doesn't need to be here. Actually, can you go pack her a bag for the next few days, I think you two may need some time together before you bring her into the mix." She tells me.

"I-I guess... should I do that now?" I ask. She nods and I quickly leave to run to my daughter's room.

I throw a bunch of clothes in a bag and head out of the house. Once at Haymitch's he pounces on me he barrades me with questions as to why Demer is here, why she's staying the night. I can't seem to tell him and I can't stand to stay any longer so I just tell him she wanted to have a sleepover with grandpa. Then I turn ad leave, heading back to my house and my wife.

* * *

When she wakes up she already knows what happened, she knows she lost the baby. The look on her face when her mother confirms it breaks my heart more than it was before. I can't stay any longer no matter how much I know I need to. I leave the room to go get my head together before I freak out. As I'm passing Haymitch's house he calls out to me and forces me to come inside.

"Boy, what the hell is going on with you? Are you having an attack or something?" He asks forcing me into a chair at his table.

"Where's Demer?" I ask looking around, not wanting her to hear what I'm going to have to tell him.

"She's outside feeding the geese, now answer my question." He replies stoutly. I look around trying to stave off the tears gathering in my eyes but no matter what I do a few tears still fall down my cheeks.

"It's Katniss... She... she l-lost the... she lost the baby." I finally stutter out and fold my arms on the table. The look on his face is one of shock. He gets out of the chair on the other of the table and comes over toward me. He hugs me from the side awkwardly with one arm and I feel even more upset than before he did anything.

"Are you okay?" He asks me. I shake my head and look out the window toward the forest that has come to recognize as the place where Katniss usually escapes to. I've considered going out there before but really had no reason to before now. "How long do you want her to stay?" He asks.

"I don't know, I have about a week's worth of clothes for her and I really don't want her home for a few more days... it'll be hard enough to deal with this without worrying about her..." I tell him standing up from the table. "If she asks, you wanted to have a week of her all to herself... I still don't know how we're going to tell her..." I tell him sadly as I get up from the table. "I need to go."

He starts to say something but before the words can leave his lips I'm out the side door and running towards my home. I don't go upstairs to where Katniss is most likely is, I go to the basement that is dirty and poorly furnished. I find the small door that leads to the space I go when I need to be alone, primarily when I'm feeling an attack coming on.

I curl in a ball on the floor and just stare at the opposite wall with a blank and unfazed expression, I just try to keep my mind from thinking of anything. The numbness I feel is a bit of a relief from the sorrow of the day.

**It's rated M for a reason. If you aren't reading Taken Away then you don't know why I haven't updated, I planned on updating this yesterday but there was a ton of stuff that made it nearly impossible for me to do so. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I really feel like I should have updated yesterday but I had my principal's memorial service and, well let's just say it was amazingly bitter sweet. Read on!**

Katniss POV

"Demer, come here, I have to talk to you about something." I hear Peeta say from the living room as I lay in bed, just like I have these past two weeks. "Demer Rose Mellark, you're going to come here. I need to talk about something with you." Peeta says a bit more firm than I have ever heard him talk.

This is it. He's going to have to tell our daughter that she's not going to have a little brother or sister like we had told her when we first found out. This was going to be hard enough to deal with if we hadn't had her to explain it to.

"What is it?" I look at the door trying to imagine the look on her face. She sounds very confused and I would rather have her stay that way rather than tell her.

"Do you remember when we told you that mommy was going to have a baby?" He asks her. I can't look at the door without feeling it's them I'm looking at so I just stare at the sheets on the bed. "Well, something happened and... she's not having the baby anymore." He tells her faltering a bit. I can hear the sadness in his voice and I know that I'm the reason it's there, I'm the reason our baby is gone.

"I not gonna be big sister?" She asks innocently. I can just see the poor dejected look on her face, It makes me want to cry, so I do. "What happened?"

"You know how we told you that the baby was in her tummy?" He pauses for a moment, "Well he came out too early... and he... well... he... we had to take him far away... to a different district... and we could only go there one once." He tells her.

"Where is it?" She asks innocently not knowing that he didn't actually move, he died.

"It's far away that's why you had to stay with Haymitch for a week." He tells her simply.

Their conversation becomes quieter and I can no longer hear it. I really want to know how Demer is taking the news, so I make the resolve to get up out of the bed and go downstairs.

There is a big difference from deciding to get up and actually doing so. I struggle for the strength to pull myself out of the sanctity of my bed and finally find it. I slide out from under the numerous covers and touch my bare feet to the cold floor. A small shiver runs up my spine as I flatten the entire bottom of my foot on the floor. Slowly I make my way out of the room and pause at the top of the stairs. I want to turn back but at the same time I know I need to keep going on if I have any hope of getting out of the bed ever again.

The stairs are silent as I slink my way down to the landing in the middle. Yet again I have thoughts of stopping and going back upstairs but they are quelled by the softer sounds of Peeta and my precious daughter whispering to each other not too far from me. My desire to see her wins over my sadness and depressed nature so when I reach the very bottom and am about to walk out from behind the wall and hear what they're actually saying I pause.

"Daddy, can I see mommy?" Demer asks sweetly.

"No honey, she's asleep." He replies kindly. I step out from behind the wall and stand in the doorway.

"No she's not daddy." She tells him looking straight at me. He's turned away from me so he doesn't know that I'm in fact downstairs at the moment.

"Yes honey, she's asleep." He tells her.

"No, I'm not." I tell him, even in this small phrase my voice is rough and cracks from the lack of use over the last week and a half. I take one more step in and Demer is already jumping off the couch and launching herself towards me. "Hi baby." I say a small crack in my voice, only this time it's not from under use, it's because of the emotions slamming through my body.

"Mommy, are you okay?" She asks me as she looks up from where her head rises to on my leg.

"Yes baby, I'm okay." I tell her as I stroke her dark hair gently.

"Are you sure?" Peeta asks standing and walking slowly towards me as well. His hand reaches forward and I flinch slightly not knowing exactly what he's going to do, but then his hands trace a line down my face and come away wet. "Why are you crying?" He asks picking up Demer. He holds me close with the arm that isn't supporting her and I can feel her little hand on my arm. I grab hold of the little hand with both hands as I lean into him.

"She's just, so... ours... she's real..." I tell him still not finding the right words. He seems to understand and smiles a bit in the melancholy of the moment. He knows what I really mean, _she's ours, she's alive, she's here, she's perfect..._

"Hey sweetie, can you go pester Haymitch for a minute?" He asks happily.

"Why do I always have to bug him?" She asks.

"You're just so good at it. Mommy and I are no good when it comes to pestering." He tells her setting her down on the floor.

"Fine," she huffs before running out the door and over to his house.

I usually feel horrible setting her loose on him but today I don't care. I also usually don't like her going over there by herself, even though it's only about ten feet from our porches.

"I'm so sorry." I tell him as I turn and bury my face in his shirt the second the door clicks shut behind her. I can now feel the tears flowing down my cheeks and wetting his shirt where my face is pressed to it.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" He asks as he gently holds my head in place and strokes the hair on the back of my head soothingly.

"This, I've caused you so much pain. For shutting you out for a week and a half, and for not being here when you told her." I tell him trying to remain calm.

I feel his hands stiffen as he grabs my arms and holds me out away from him. "Katniss, none of this is your fault. Don't believe that for even a second." He tells me sternly. "There is nothing you could have done, and you got up, it took your mother years to come to terms with reality, you did in under two weeks." He says before kissing the top of my head.

"You love me, real or not real?" He asks a smile lighting up his face. This question has become more of a joke than an actual question like it was years ago.

"Real." I say smiling through my tears.

**You know I really do understand what had happened to Mrs. Everdeen after her husband died. Every time someone I was close to dies I just go totally numb and my mind is blank for weeks. I don't go to extremes like she did but I do know what I think it was like for her... Woo hoo psychoanalyzing fictional characters!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well I'm really trying to get a scheduled worked out but with school, swim practice, swim meets, and dance practice I have so little time I'm about to scream Love you guys! I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter. It's a bit of a filler but it does have some necessary information for later on... **

Katniss POV

Peeta talks in whispers in the other room. The Capitol must have called because they are the only ones who call. Especially at three in the morning, every week in these past three months they have called one day to irritate us. I answered the first time they called and yelled at them until I woke up both Demi and Peeta. They always manage to call at around three in the morning and wake us up. They've called three times this week and each time Peeta has answered. I don't know what they want but he always start to argue with them about something or another.

"Katniss." He whispers to me sadly.

"What?" I whisper at him as he lays back down.

"Well I guess you know who that was on the phone?"

"Yeah." I say turning back over to the wall opposite him.

"Well the Capitol wants us to come and do some interview. I actually need to get some tests done so They suggested that I come and bring you two. It really wasn't much of a suggestion though... I'm scheduled to go tomorrow... I'm sorry." He says pacing the room quietly, even with the prosthetic leg on he's learned to be much quieter than before.

"I don't want to take Demi. She's too young... I can't subject her to that." I say sitting up in bed.

"We don't have much of a choice. They're going to make all three of us come one way or another. So it'll be better to do this now than when they'll be even more vicious." He tells me as I try to coax him back into the warmth of the bed. "I have to get ready for work." He tells me turning towards the bathroom.

"Peeta it's 3:30 in the morning you don't leave until 6. Just get in bed. I'm going to need the energy and we both know that you will too." I tell him grabbing his wrist. He sighs and reluctantly crawls on to the bed. I nuzzle into him and trap him under the covers. His warmth spreads under the five or so blankets that I insist on having on the bed and though it's already warming up I cling to him like it is twenty below zero. I'm still shivering though, the winter chill seeps through the window and cuts to my bone. "Why is it so cold?" I asks finally.

"Katniss it's not cold. You're just tiny and don't have hardly any body fat, so you have no way to ward it off." He laughs breathily. In return I smack him lightly and curl into a ball at his side, he wraps his arms around me and I fall asleep shortly after.

* * *

It's late when I wake up, I know it is because the sun is high in the sky, no longer peaking in through the window. Peeta is no longer laying beside me and I glance around to see where he is but find that I'm alone in the room.

"Peeta?" I call out, unsure if I'm going to wake anyone up.

No one answers so I call out a few more times before I throw the covers off of me, put on a heavy sweatshirt that lies right beside my bed, and even thicker socks. The flannel pants I sleep in every night are nice and warm against my skin while my body heat spreads out to warm the sweatshirt and the socks.

I shuffle to the bathroom and wash my face before I slink down the stairs. The sound of someone cooking and stirring around in the kitchen and move to the doorway quickly.

Peeta is standing by the stove dishing up some food from a skillet. He turns when he hears me and I see as a smile spreads across his face.

"Hello sleeping beauty. Did you have a nice rest?" He asks moving to the table.

"Yeah, what time is it?" I question, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"It's 1 o'clock. You okay? You've been sleeping a lot later lately." He asks, his face becoming a mask of concern.

"It's just the winter, I haven't been getting much sunlight. I'm fine, why aren't you at work?" I ask changing the subject from me.

"I had one of the workers fill in for me. I'm sort of glad I didn't go in. I'm fixing lunch you want any?" He asks.

"Yeah. Where's Demi?" I ask.

"Helping Haymitch with the geese, well she's messing around with them and the snow and he's watching." He laughs.

"That sounds like fun." I sigh, looking out the window towards where the snow lies shining brightly over top of the grass. "We need to pack for tomorrow don't we?" I ask sitting down at the table. He puts a plate of food in front of me and I start to eat a bit.

"Yeah... Actually I think it's today..." He tells me and I almost choke on the food I was eating. "I have most of the stuff packed and we have tickets for the train at 9."

"You're sure we _have _to go." I ask when I regain speech.

"Sorry." He tells me sitting down at the table next to me and begins to eat as well. Demer comes back in some time later and hops over to me, wraping me in a cold, snow covered hug.

"Did you have fun?" I ask helping her out of the coat. She nods rapidly and I hand the jacket to Peeta who quickly puts it away. I pull her up on my lap, strip her of the snow boots she wears and throw them toward the door. "Did you eat yet?" I ask her.

"Yeah I had lots of sugar!" She shouts.

"Great." I huff under my breath. Peeta walks back into the room and picks Demer up off my lap.

"So Demi had a good time at Grandpa's?" He ask in a baby voice.

"Peeta, she's too old to be spoken to like a baby. And yes she had fun, and Haymitch pumped her full of sugar." I tell him.

_"Fantastic."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about taking so long but I think you'll kind of like it, I'm going to have how they got Demer's name in the next chapter Katniss POV b/c someone kind of wanted to and I love the idea I got from it... aka how I actually got the name. **

Peeta POV

"Katniss we need to leave. The train won't wait for us!" I yell up the stairs as she runs around frantically. I'm not totally sure what's going on but she needs to get down here. She seems to be happy again, but I know how dangerous that can be after someone has been after being as severely depressed as she was, so I'm even more worried about her than I was when she was highly depressed. This is a sign, according to my doctor, because of the severe switch with little time transitioning, that she's become suicidally depressed.

He was one of the few people I had actually told about our baby and that we had lost it. The instant he found out he sent me papers and books and other things that could help explain the facts of depression more in depth than I had originally known. They also had showed the symptoms of a person who is suicidally depressed.

I remember what it said on the back of one of the pamphlets:

_Warning signs of suicide with depression include:_

_A sudden switch from being very sad to being very calm or appearing to be happy_

_Always talking or thinking about death_

_Clinical depression (deep sadness, loss of interest, trouble sleeping and eating) that gets worse_

_Having a "death wish," tempting fate by taking risks that could lead to death_

_Losing interest in things one used to care about_

_Making comments about being hopeless, helpless, or worthless_

_Putting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, changing a will_

_Saying things like "It would be better if I wasn't here" or "I want out"_

_Talking about suicide_

_Visiting or calling people one cares about_

This is what makes me worried, but I also know that it is possible that she's just getting better. I hope she is because I know that I couldn't be here without her. She's what kept me going, her and more recently Demer, whenever I had an attack and feel like it might be better if I weren't here to torture them, I remember how she had said that she needed me, and I know that Demer does as well, no matter how damaged I may be, I must be here for both of them. I never really want to leave them now.

"I'm coming!" She calls out as she clamors down the steps. I know she won't want to go but I set up an appointment with her old doctor while we're in the Capitol.

"Took you long enough. Let's just go." I huff as she runs out the door, with her suitcase in hand, to where Demer sits waiting for the two of us by our own suitcases.

We race off toward the station and barely make it before it begins to move out of the station. Once on board we drag our things to the room we had reserved. I recognize it instantly, this is the room that we had shared before our second games, during the Victory Tour, and that she had stayed in before the first one.

I pause as I see the realization cross her face. She tenses for a moment before looking at me wide eyed.

"I swear I didn't want this room. Of course they had to give us this one." I defend myself.

"Let's just not talk about it. Demer, come in here." She calls out the door. She bounces in holding a small bag in her little hands. "Sweetie, do you want to sleep on the bed with daddy and mommy or in your sleeping bag on the floor?" She asks as she begins to rummage in our packed things for the little sleeping bag we had gotten for her not too long ago, for when she would stay at Haymitch's, so it was more of a sleep over and not what it really was.

"I wanna use my bag!" She cheers happily, grabbing the thick fabric from her mother before laying it down on the ground right in front of the small chest of drawers.

"Honey, why don't you put it against the wall so we won't trip on it?" I suggest. She thinks about it for a moment before dragging it to s small spot against the wall.

"There!" She shouts happily. Katniss hesitantly moves over and sits on the bed. The second she does Demer is jumping on her lap. "Tell me a story! I want a story!" She chatters happily.

This is really the first time she's ever had a vacation, other than the 'sleepovers' at Haymitch's, so she's very excited. We'll be lucky to get her to sleep at all tonight.

"Okay, one story and then you have to go to bed, deal?" I ask attempting to be stern, that's never really been my strong suit, especially when it comes to her, she's daddy's little girl and she knows it.

"Can it be long then?" She counters.

"Fine what do you want it to be about?" I ask, she always wants to plan the thing out, the entire story so I just add in the details really.

"I want you to tell me how you got my name." She says, surprising me. Usually she wants me to tell her some story about talking animals or whatnot.

I smile a bit at the memory and start simply, "Well before you we're born, your mommy and I wanted to pick out a few names so we could decide what fit you best..."

As I continue I see that Katniss is looking off into the distance, smiling at the memory.

I nearly tell her about the slightly inappropriate part of the story as I look at Katniss. I know that she's smiling as she reminisces about that very happy time between the two of us. She's smiling and I'm sure I won't see too many in the coming week or so.

**Can't wait to hear about what you thought!**

**Disclaimer, as if it weren't obvious enough, I do not own The Hunger Games. If I did then I would not be doing this, I would have published a fourth book. **

**Ever wonder if Suzanne Collins reads some of this? That would be freaking awesome. I know I would if I were a famous author lol.**


	6. Chapter 6

Who Would Have Known 6

Katniss POV

_It is late in the evening, but I had just gotten up a few hours ago when Peeta had gotten back from the bakery. He practically had to drag me out of bed. Now we're sitting on the sofa, he's resting against the arm while I'm leaning against his chest, my arms folded on top of my bulging belly that holds our baby. His hands massage my lower back, leaving an amazing chill to run through my body._

_"You know we're going to need some names." I blurt out. His hands still on my back for only a second and move again when I move my own to prod him._

_"Well I figured if it were a girl... we'd name her after Prim." He says thinking intently about the subject._

_"No," I shake my head. "I don't want that to be her first name, at least. A child does not need ghosts. I don't need another Prim." I tell him firmly. "I had a better idea though." I tell him as I look back so I could see those blue eyes I hoped our baby would have._

_"What was it?" He asks._

_"Well... it sort of sounds dumb... but... well... I was going to... combine our names so that our baby would be... a total combination of us..." I say as I look away from his face. The second the words are out of my mouth I want to take them back instantly._

_He starts to laugh slightly. "Like Katpee? Peeniss?" I shake my head vehemently. "Everlark? Peetniss?" His laughter hasn't subsided and it is jiggling me on top of him._

_"No. Just... get me some paper and a pencil." I tell him firmly. He pushes me up so that I am sitting against the back of the sofa, before he sits up himself then walks over to a desk on the other side of the room and grabs his notebook he had written in earlier. "Thanks," I say as he starts back over._

_"Okay so what's up with the paper?" He asks as he hands over the pad and pen._

_"Just a minute." I tell him as I begin to write out M-E-L-L-A-R-K and E-V-E-R-D-E-E-N with enough space so I could tear them apart. He makes a sound as though he almost understands what I have planned. "Rip these out." I tell him as I had struggle to get up._

_"Where are you going?" He asks still plopped on the couch, not offering any help._

_"Well, if you **have** to know, I need to use the bathroom." I snap at him._

_"Sorry." He mumbles, before pushing me up so I can waddle down the hallway towards the bathroom._

_When I got back I see that he had all the names, including our first names, written out and cut so that they were in neat rows on the coffee table._

_I sit back down and began to move the letters around._

_There on the table there were several possible names, Kent, Setis, Apa (Which neither of us liked), Maverek, Leler, and Den. We decided that we only really liked Kent and Setis and began to work yet again._

_Finally we found one name for a little girl, the only one that we felt would work for us, Demer._

It's a soft, warm, comforting hand that brings me out of the sweet memory as it sweeps across my face before coming to still on my cheek. A calloused thumb slides against my cheek, spreading wetness along it. I hadn't even realized that I was crying. I finally open my eyes and see Peeta looking at my face, skeptically.

"Katniss, are you okay?" He asks tenderly, picking Demer up off his lap and laying her in her sleeping bag.

"No, I just... I just need a moment." I whisper to him, standing off the bed and moving to the door of the bathroom. He tries to follow me but I close the door behind me and lock it.

I turn to face the mirror and see a very thin version of myself. There are bags upon bags of deep purple under my eyes, my face is pale and gaunt. The muscles that I had worked up over so many years are diminished, barely visible under my skin now.

I splash water on my face to calm down a bit but it really doesn't help. A bath seems so appealing to me right now and I can't resist. I fill the tub with hot water, disrobe and slip into the water until I'm submerged up to my eyes. I gaze as the small tendrils of steam rise off the water and disapear into thin air.

My eyelids begin to sag and I decide that I'll just close them for a moment, I won't sleep though, just rest my eyes. The second they close I sigh, the dark is a good escape, just black, nothing more nothing less.

* * *

"Katniss?" I hear Peeta practically shout in the door of the bathroom. The door's open? I know I locked it. Did he break it? If he woke up Demer so help me.

"What?" I yell right back at him.

"Did you really sleep in here last night?" He asks moving closer to the tub now filled with cold water.

"No. What are you talking about, I just closed my eyes for five minutes. Did you break the door?" I say forcefully.

"I may or may not have... sort of... gotten a worker to unlock it for me... but that's beside the point. Did you really sleep in here last night?" He asks again, this time a bit more accusingly.

"I don't know... what time is it?" I ask sitting up, before I realize that there's someone standing outside the door. "Umm... Peeta?"

"It's almost noon." He tells me handing me a towel.

"Peeta?" I ask again.

"What? Is there something wrong?" He asks looking worried.

"Who is standing outside the door?" I hide behind him, wrapping myself in the towel.

"Sorry, totally forgot about the worker." He tells me quickly. "Hey, she's fine. You can leave now." He shouts in the general direction of the door.

"How much longer 'till we get to the Capitol?" I ask quickly. Peeta repeats the question so the worker can hear and my heart nearly stops at the response.

"It'll be this evening."

"It took us three freaking days to get here less than twenty years ago, this is the same train. How's that even possible?" I ask flabbergasted. Peeta just shrugs at me. _Great even less time to prepare for this hell I'm about to enter._

* * *

_****__**Did you like your Christmas present? Or whatever holiday you celebrate around this time of year? Well you should let me know in a review! :) I'll try to update sometime in the next week! 'Till then!**_  



	7. Chapter 7

Peeta POV  
"Can't I just stay on the train until it goes back to twelve?" Katniss whines.

"No you need to take care of Demer while I'm at my appointment. You'll be fine. We'll spend some time together and relax." I tell her practically dragging her out of our room. For how small she is she sure does weigh a lot.

"Mommy, come on! I want to go see aunt Effie!" Demer shouts at Katniss, while enthusiastically jumping up and down to see it the small window in the cold metal door. Nearly all of the windows are light up and against the falling darkness. The buildings are no longer gaudily colorful but more reserved in the colors. Most buildings are neutral tones with some pastel ones littered here and there. This would actually make a rather interesting painting, the first one I did of the Capitol looked like a cartoon and I ended up throwing it away in spite.

Katniss, dejectedly, slides of the train and the three of us walk, hand in hand down the tightly packed streets. I pick up Demer and we walk more quickly towards the hotel in which I booked a room for us, under a pseudonym to avoid all the buzz that will arise before we leave.

The second we get to the desk the person sitting there brightens visibly.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She chirps at us exuberantly. I see Katniss roll her eyes in annoyance and feel Demer burrow into my neck nervously looking at the woman with cheetah print skin. I remember the woman who made herself look like a tiger, the woman who hid us under her store during the war.

"Yes, we've come to check in." I reply kindly, shifting Demer so that I can rub her back with my other hand. When we were walking down the street she seemed a bit timid but right now I just want to get her out of the hubbub of the Capitol. She'll need to get a good night's rest, tomorrow she'll be visiting with Effie, she'll need plenty of patience to deal with her.

While she's visiting Effie Katniss and I are going to go out and relax, I've planned a ton for the trip and hopefully after I distract her she won't be suspecting when I take her to see her doctor the last day we're here. Let's just hope that she doesn't find out.

"Okay..." she clicks her tongue hitting buttons on a screen before looking back up at us. "I'm sort, we don't have a Mellark in the reservations but we do have an available suite, if you'd like that." She trills at the end.

"I'm it's under..." what name did I use this time, "Setis McConnells." I tell her cringing mentally at my poor choice of names. I see Katniss freeze next to me and throw her an apologetic look. She just shakes her head I just have the worst timing, I made these reservations months ago, before we lost the baby, and we were almost certain it was a boy, Setis was what we were going to name him. It was supposed to be a nod towards our baby, the appointment was set up for a while but when the doctor called to confirm I had him set one up for Katniss, because I just knew it wasn't going to be good but I still don't know how bad it is.

"That's so smart, reserving it under a fake name! I don't think I've heard that one before, Setis that is, where you find it?" She says checking the reservations again.

"We... we came up with it actually." I mumble just loud enough for the woman to hear me.

"Now who is this? Is she yours?" She asks handing Katniss the keys to the room as well as a pamphlet about all the 'hot spots' in the Capitol.

"This is Demer, our daughter." I reply shifting her a bit so I can hold her more comfortably on my right side and take the suitcases with my left.

"Well hello, my name is Rita. I love that name, Demer, I haven't heard that one before. Where'd you guys find it?" She trills with her heavy Capitol accent.

"We actually came up with that one, as well as Setis..." I trail off looking to Katniss where she stands, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Thank you for your help but I think we should be headed to our room, it's been a busy day and we all need some rest." I tell her grabbing the bags, throwing Rita a smile over my shoulder as we all had up the small flight of stairs to the elevator we'll take to our room.

"I'm sorry, I made those reservations a while ago... I forgot to change the name... I'm so sorry." I whisper shortly after I hear the soft sound of our daughter's even breathing against my neck.

"It's fine... let's just get her into an actual bed. I just want to sleep right now, when do we have to wake up by?" She asks trying to avoid the subject.

"Um, we're supposed to drop her of at Effie's at nine so well have to leave by eight... but you don't necessarily have to go. If you're still tired in the morning you can stay." I tell her. She lands on the bed with a thud and I drop the suitcase, walk to the adjoining room, slide Demer under the covers of the bed in the adjoining room, shut the door and grab the suitcase I left by the door.

"Babe, you going to wear that to bed or do you want your pajamas?" I call out just loud enough to make her hear me but not wake Demer. I don't hear anything for a while so I grab both of our pajamas sets and walk into the room only to see Katniss asleep on top of the bedding.

I let out a small tisk noise then change in the bathroom before moving her under the covers alongside me.

_**Okay hope you liked it! Please if you haven't so far check out my new story AllAll In All! Thank you all! Please leave a review!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Sorry if this isn't up to my usual standards... hopefully it's not as bad as I think it is... I had the first part all typed up, tried to save but didn't have any WiFi needless to say I was pissed. Hope you like this. I have spring break coming up so hopefully I can get some more typed up soon!**_

Peeta POV

It takes half an hour to get to Effie's house, so I carry Demer on the way there. She complains about being able to walk herself the entire way there, but I know that she won't walk more that a minute or so before making me carry her, and I won't be able to lose her in the bustling city around us as easily.

Once we reach the house I knock swiftly in the door and before I know it, Effie's chipper form has replaced the sturdy black door.

"Hello, how are you?" She asks as she takes a step back to allow us entry.

"Oh, we're good. How are you?" I ask in return.

"Wonderful especially since I get to spend all day with this little sweetheart!" She exclaims, motioning us inside. I take a few steps inside then stop and put Demer down.

"You be good okay?" I tell her crouching down to her level. "Okay well, I hate to be leaving so abruptly but, I have to get back to Katniss." I inform them standing up and walking out the door. "Don't have too much fun without me." I shout back at them.

Effie closes the door as I round the corner, heading back to our hotel room.

* * *

"Mr. Mellark, just a moment!" The receptionist calls to me as I walk past the desk.

"Yes?" I reply, turning around to look at her.

"There has been some reports of commotion coming from your room, would you know anything about that?" She asks.

For a moment I simply stare at her before turning to the elevator and pressing the button rapidly, then, since it's taking too long, I sprint up the stairs faster than I thought possible with my leg. Once I get to the door I pause for a moment to listen to insure that no one is coming.

There are rustling noises coming from inside the room, so I don't hesitate in moving in.

The door flies open, slamming into the opposite wall. The room is trashed, clothes, furniture, and papers thrown everywhere. Katniss is nowhere to be seen. I call out her name several times before I come around a corner and see her shuffling through a giant pile of clothes.

"Katniss?" I ask, as she turns around. Her eyes are wild, hair mussed, and clothes twisted around her. "What's going on here?"

"Did you take him, take him to Effie's?" She mumbles, standing to look me in the face.

"Take who?"

"When you took her did you take him too?"

"Katniss this is crazy, what are you talking about?"

She turns away from me and mumbles, "I knew it, he's somewhere around here, just not here..."

"Honey, are you feeling okay?" I beg, reaching up to feel her forehead. "You're burning up." I inform her.

"Help me find him." She pleads with me. "They took him from us, he's here somewhere. I just know it." She blabbers on. "He's ours, we have to get him back. You have to help me."

"Why don't you get some sleep while I see what I can do okay?" I tell her, moving her back to the bed.

"We need to find him though, he's not safe, they're hurting him. Don't let them hurt him." She implores.

Once she's asleep I call a doctor so he can come look at her. She really hasn't had a freak out like this in, well actually I don't think she's ever had one this bad, except perhaps for the few months after the war. Though even then it wasn't like this. I'm hoping this is just the fever talking and she hasn't gone totally insane.

Within twenty minutes the doctor has arrived at the hotel and the receptionist calls up to let me know, not wanting to leave I just tell her to let him up.

He looks plain for the Capitol, that I'm thankful for, is wearing a white shirt, black pants, and has a large bag with him.

"Sorry to be meeting under these circumstances, but hello I'm Doctor Danan. What seems to be the problem?" He questions sitting at the foot of the bed and opening the large case he brought with him.

"Well I was gone for about an hour, as I told you on the phone, when I came back there were some complaints about some commotion coming from the room. When I got up here the room was totally trashed, like someone was looking for something. She kept talking about 'him' I don't know who he is but she insisted that he was taken from us, he was in this city, and that we needed to find him. She had a fever so I made her lay down but she's been mumbling like this since she went to sleep." I tell him gesturing towards where she lies sleeping in the middle of the bed.

He pulls out several different instruments and proceeds to check her temperature, and I don't even know what else, before he wakes her. The moment she wakes up she bolts upright, and slides all the way to the back of the bed.

"It's okay, he's just here to make sure you're okay. I'm right here." I tell her sitting next to her and taking her hand in my own, in an effort to calm her down. She relaxes a moment before looking at me, giving a slight smile, then looking back at the doctor sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Can you tell me what you were talking about earlier today?" He asks her.

She goes rigid and then replies, as though it's totally obvious. "They took him, and gave him away, he's here in the city."

"Who are they and who did they take?" He asks slowly.

"The doctors, when I went to the hospital, they took our son."

_**Dun, dun, dun! My evil plan is put into action!**_


	9. Chapter 9

Katniss POV

The doctor gives me some sort of medicine that's supposed to help with my fever and hallucinations, I don't think I have any of those but I take what he gives me. The medicine makes me sleepy almost instantly so when Peeta tucks me into the bed and kisses my forehead I don't object, even though it makes me feel sort of like a child. The sleep isn't deep, I'm incessantly pulled back to near consciousness but every time I can't seem to open my eyes or move my limbs at all.

* * *

The first time I 'wake' I hear Peeta talking, pausing, and then continuing.

"No, Effie, you need to keep her for tonight. Katniss isn't feeling very well... No I just don't want her to get sick... Yes she'll be spending the night... I don't care if you take her out to get something... Fine... Effie, I need to get back to Katniss... Just bring her back about twelve tomorrow as long as Katniss is doing better... Alright... Bye"

The bed shifts only slightly and then I can feel Peeta move beside me. Before I feel him next to me I'm pulled away from reality.

* * *

Once again I surface to the sound of Peeta's voice, only now he's singing, it's one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. The words flow heavenly from his lips and I wonder to myself why I've never heard him sing before this, why he's so enraptured by my voice when his sounds like this.

The soft, sweet song is one that I very faintly remember as on of the many songs I would sometimes hear my father sing while he was on the way back from the woods with me. I've no clue where Peeta heard it from but I find myself relaxing even further with the words he says, "I was made to keep your body warm, But I'm cold as the wind blows so hold me in your arms. My heart's against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck. I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet. And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now. Kiss me like you wanna be loved, You wanna be loved, You wanna be loved. This feels like falling in love, Falling in love, We're falling in love"

Before I'd like to be I'm pulled under by sleep for the last time I try to memorize what he's sounds like, and attempt to remember to ask him to sing for me later.

* * *

Some time later, I regain all of my senses and wake up fully. The sun is visible at the very tip of the window, allowing the sunrise to illuminate the sky.

"Are you awake?" My voice is scratchy as I look up at his face, evidently at some point during the time I was out, he joined me, and I rolled into my usual sleeping position.

"Yeah, I have been for a while now. How do you feel?" He asks me, stroking my hair that's now absolutely matted.

I have to think for a moment, how do I feel?

* * *

Peeta's POV

"I suppose I feel better, maybe I need some fresh air. Can we go and walk around?" She bats her eyes at me and I just can't say no.

"We'll need to be back by … 1 so we can get re-packed. Will that be okay?" I ask her as she sits up against me.

"I need to get ready then," she says as she pops out of bed and scrambles toward the bathroom.  
My eyebrows follow as I watch her. She's never been this... happy… spunky… energetic before. It worries me a bit, but she's not laying in bed or crying anymore, so that's an improvement. Demer should be happier since she's missed her room these past few months.

At the thought of my daughter I snap out of bed and reach for the phone, dial Effie's number, and when she answers I start talking.

"Effie, Katniss is feeling better, we're going to go out today. I think we're going to have to have you drop her off at the train station. That won't be a problem, will it?" I tell her hurriedly.

"Oh, that's fine dear. It only means I get to spend more time I get to spend more time with this little angel!" She exclaims.

I tell her to say hello to Demer for me, and then promptly hang up as Katniss walks out of the bathroom.

"Ready to go?" I questioned. She nods her head and we move on out.

* * *

We roam around the city, trying to lay low, but we are still quite popular everywhere. Every time we come across a mother with a baby, Katniss asks to hold them and talks with them before I eventually have to pull her away.

At one point I panic because she's wandered off and I can't find her. I do though and she's at the front of a store with a small bundle of lightweight blankets.

"Why did you buy those?" I gesture towards them and she shrugs.

"I thought they'd look good in the house."

It's not until we meet back up with Effie in front of the train, that I hear much of anything. There's a distant, almost muffled sound of a child's cry. I shrug it off since the station is crowded and there are many other children around us.

The sound follows us into our compartment which makes me start listening more closely. I kiss her head when it gets even louder. I grab most of the blankets out of her arms before she struggles to get them back. I won the tug of war and the crying is louder, causing me to peel away most of the blankets.

"Katniss, what have you done?" I practically shout, looking into the eyes of a young baby, perhaps only a few months old.

"I got Setis back." Is all she says.

* * *

_**So it's been a while... hope you liked it! I didn't have the time or the energy to type this so I got one of my friends to do it for me... so I'll blame her for all mistakes, even though i did go over it. Reviews would certainly help but I understand if you don't review... Have a happy day/evening/stuff.**_

_**And if anyone recognizes the amazing song I have in this chapter then you get this invisible cookie. **_

_**Until whenever I update again! *awesome music play out***_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Well I'm FINALLY updating. I'll try to make this more frequent since I have five days to write, but I won't promise anything just yet. Enjoy!**_

Peeta POV

_"I got Setis back."_

I can't find anything to say so I simply stare at her.

"Aren't you happy?" She asks me after a moment. "Are you going to say something or just stand there?"

"I- I don't know what to say. Katniss this is just-"

"Baby there's nothing to say anyway, we got him back." She says standing and hugging me. I embrace her, but I know that we're doing this for different reasons. I'm only doing this to comfort myself, as well as make it seem as though I'm playing along with it, while she's most likely thinking that we're all one big happy family again.

"Now I'm going to go call Delly and Johanna to tell her the happy news, okay?" I tell her pulling away.

"Okay I didn't even think about that, that's why I married you, that and because you're so charming." She gives me a kiss on the cheek before sitting down on the couch and cooing at the child, who's whimpering.

* * *

"Dr. I don't know what to do." I sigh pulling at the roots of my hair, pacing the floor of the dining car where I got the phone. "She took someone's _baby,_ and and she's saying that she got our son back. I don't know what to do, I told he I was calling our friends about the happy news, but I just _don't know what to do._I just know that something happened in her head when she got that fever and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Tell me what to do, please she's gone crazy and I don't know how to help." I ramble earning a few pitying looks from the other occupants of the car.

"Peeta you need to calm down. It's going to be fine. Now you need to listen carefully, try to make her see reason, find out where she found this child, and I'll talk to some people who I know who can help you two, is that okay with you?" He says calmly trying to relax me.

"She's not going to go to jail for kidnapping or anything like that right? I mean she doesn't even this she's kidnapping, she thinks that she's just getting her-out son back. I don't think that would do her any good, you need to see her and listen to her talk, she really believes all this stuff. I don't know what to do, don't know what's going to happen, what are they going to do to her? She can't be held responsable for her actions. Please, just tell me what's going to happen. I'm scared. I'm scared for her, for Demer, most especially for the baby, because we can't take care of him, we don't have anything for him."

"Peeta, I'm going to ask you to calm down one last time, this amount of stress you seem to be feeling may trigger an attack and we can't let that happen with you on that train. No one can handle you properly, sit down and listen." He pauses for a moment before continuing, "Now I need you to try to convince her of what's really going on okay? Once you get home, I'll have a few people on the next train to assess the situation, as well as myself. You'll obviously have to care for the child for the time being, the workers on the train should be able to get you whatever you need for the baby. We've been on the phone too long, you'll need to call me again once she's asleep, okay?"

I nod my head, forgetting that he's not able to see me, "Yes, I think so. I'll be sure to talk to you later." He agrees and shortly after we both hang up.

* * *

"Honey, we gotta talk." I whisper as I walk towards her, Demer, and the child we don't know the name of.

"What do we have to talk about?" She looks up at me and I almost lose my resolve to tell her what I know I have to.

"The baby, we have to talk about him." I take the seat next to her and silence her before she begins to tell me how wonderful it is. "Katniss you have to know that I love you more than anything, so me telling you this hurts me more than you could possibly imagine." She looks into my eyes and the fear and the pity is almost too much for me to handle so I have to look away from her.

"Peeta, what's wrong?"

"I don't know what I can say to you really, but... Setis, or at least the baby you have, isn't ours."

"What do you mean he isn't ours? I would think I'd know my own son!" She shouts angry with me. "I don't know about you but I know one of my children when I see one. Maybe you're not nearly as smart as I thought you were! I can't believe you would even suggest that!"

"Katniss, I don't know how you forgot," tears spring in my eyes and I run a frustrated hand through my hair,"you- you lost him. You had a miscarriage a few months ago. Please baby you have to remember." I beg taking her hands in my own. "Please, this isn't the Katniss I know, I don't know what happened to you but I'll make it right, I'll do whatever it takes for you to just remember." Hot tears slide down my face as I look into her own teary eyes and fold her into my arms.


End file.
